On My Side
by The Timeless Clock
Summary: Hello, my name is Mina. In this game I'm not on your side, or his side...I'm on my side. Don't underestimate me because I look sweet. I know exactly what you're thinking...before you even think it yourself. Be afraid if I'm your enemy.
1. A Visitor at Night

Caine Soren sat in a leather chair, drumming his fingers on the arm. His eyes were fixed on the floor just ahead of him and a scowl was set upon his face. His hair was just long enough to trail into his eyes, which he brushed away irritably. He stood up and paced the room restlessly and then stopped to look out of the window. His reflection stared back at him from the darkness. It was a dark night, one of the many that he experienced because of sleepless nights. Things weren't getting any better. His situation was as bad as it had been before. No food...no power. No control. Nothing. Only a few people who followed him. Followed him out of fear. Caine was about to throw something across the room out of anger when he was stopped by the door opening behind him. He didn't turn to look but waited for his visitor to address him. "Aren't you going to say hello?" Said Diana.

"No." Growled Caine.

"Fine, be like that. But you were the one who asked me to come."

"Diana can you just-" Caine sighed, sounding tired.

"So, what's this plan of yours, fearless leader?"

"I don't know! Just...just shut up for a minute, won't you?"

"Someone got up on the wrong side of bed this morning." Said Diana coming up next to Caine.

"Diana-"

"Sorry," said Diana, holding up her hands "but you asked me to come. I could be doing other things right now. Like sleeping, maybe? That's what normal people do at this time of night, Caine. Sleep." Caine walked back to the chair and sat down, holding his head in his hands. "Diana, if I could sleep, I would. Do you think, if I had a choice, I'd be awake right now, thinking about how to keep myself alive?" Diana didn't say anything back so he carried on "I thought I had a plan. But I don't. It's useless. So, go back to bed if you want. I don't care what you do to be honest, Diana. But, I just need a break from all this."

Diana stood awkwardly for a moment and then said "Caine," a little more gently than she usually did "you're not going to get anywhere just sitting here all night. Go to bed and-"

"I'm not going to get any sleep. If I do, it'll be tainted with horrible dreams of...of..."

"You mean nightmares?" Said Diana, the side of her mouth twitching.

"Whatever you want to call them. Dreams, nightmares...visions, they're horrible."

"Dreams are when they're nice, nightmares on the other hand-"

"Right now, you're being a nightmare."

"Just trying to help." Said Diana shrugging her shoulders.

"In a scary know it all, Astrid the genius sort of way." There was a knock at the door. Not the door of the room but the front door. The loud noise echoed throughout the building and when it had stopped, dead silence was left behind. Caine's eyes met Diana's and they didn't say anything for a minute. "Who do you think that is?" Said Diana, looking away.

"I don't know, but whoever it is, is going to be sorry if it's not important." Said Caine, getting up.

"You're actually going to open it?" Said Diana, incredulously, following Caine down the stairs.

"Why not? Whoever's there is hardly going to hurt me." Caine laughed humourlessly "they could try, but they wouldn't actually get to the point of hurting me." Caine undid the bolt on the door and opened it to see a girl standing there. She looked about 14 with long brown hair and blue eyes, she had a sweet face that would have been prettier had she been eating enough. But...she didn't look as bad as some people did. She was a bit on the skinny side but not so much that she looked starved. "Who are you and what do you want?" Said Caine coldly. He was in a bad mood and couldn't be bothered dealing with anyone.

"I'm sorry to bother you-"

"You will be if this isn't important." Snapped Caine

"But I was just wondering if I could stay here...at least for the night?" It took a moment for the words to sink in. Why would this girl want to stay here? She wasn't on Caine's side or he'd know who she was and if she was on Sam's...then why was she here? Diana rescued him from an awkward silence by saying "Why would you need to stay here? Haven't you got a home?"

"I did have one but...I can't stay there anymore. I lived in the forest since the FAYZ but now there are too many creatures and animals around there and it's too dangerous. If I can't stay it doesn't matter."

"So, you don't know what's been going on?" Said Caine

"Yes but I just kept out of it. I'm not on anyone's side if that's what you're thinking."

"You're going to have to pick sides soon though," said Diana, as if talking to a child.

"But you're not on one, are you?" Said the girl.

"Excuse me?" asked Diana, a little confused.

"You're on your own side, even if you do stay here." Diana's eyes widened a little, how did the girl know what she'd said? She shook it off, thinking it must have gone around somehow. Caine had been watching the girl the whole time and thought _I wonder if she has any powers...if she could be useful. I'd ask Diana to read her but...I don't want her suspecting anything's wrong. _The girl's face hardened and said "is that how you want to play then, Soren?"

"What?" Said Caine.

"Want to use me, do you? Well you've got another think coming because I don't take kindly to being used." Caine stared at the girl who had just spoken his thoughts out loud, Diana was looking at him, confused. "I've not picked a side yet, I thought it might be alright over here, but if you're going to take that attitude then I might just leave and join Sam and his army. You'd be sorry then, Caine. You don't want me as an enemy."

"What the-" began Caine.

"So, do you want me, or not? If you say yes, I'll let Diana here read my power level if that's what you want. But I'm only going to stay if I'm not used. You start using me Caine, and I'm out."

Caine shook his head, as if trying to sort out all the things that were going on in his head. "Diana, can you-" She nodded and the girl held out her hand. A small smile crept upon her lips as Diana took her hand. The look on Diana's face was a picture, that's for sure. She dropped the girl's hand as if it was red hot and stared in disbelief. "What?" Said Caine

"She has powers." Said Diana, swallowing.

"I think that's quite obvious, Diana. How strong is she?"

"That's the thing...she's a four bar."


	2. More Than Just Mind Reading

A four bar? How could she be a four bar? "So, are you going to let me in, or do I have to wait around here all night whilst you stand gawping?" Said the girl. Caine stood aside so she could go past and he shut the door behind her, securing the bolt. "I think we'd better talk." Said Caine, leading the way down the hall. As they walked Diana asked "so, what's your name? You already seem to know ours but we don't know yours."

"Mina." Said the girl.

"Mina." Said Diana smiling "I like it, it's a nice name."

Caine shot her a look "since when did you become that nice?"

"Just because you can't make conversation, Caine. Doesn't mean the rest of the world need to sit in silence." Snapped Diana. They arrived in the kitchen. A kitchen that hardly deserved the name anymore considering there wasn't any food there but it still had the same things any other kitchen did, minus the food. "Sit down for a minute, won't you? Me and Diana have something to talk about. We won't be long." Said Caine, roughly grabbing Diana by the arm.

"What?" She said, once they were in the room across from the kitchen.

"What do you think?"

"If she stays with us, she'll be great. But I wouldn't like to face her _and _Sam, so I hope she stays."

"What are you scared of? Her hearing your thoughts?"

"Yes, actually. I don't like people going through things in my mind. That's precisely why I think them and not say them out loud."

"But, come on. A four bar and all she can do is read minds? The question is, what else can she do?"

_Wouldn't you like to know_ said Mina. But the thing was, she said it in Caine's head, not out loud. Caine physically jumped and Diana said "What?" rather irritably.

"She just spoke! In my head!"

_Yep, I sure did. Neat trick, huh? _Said Mina to Diana.

"What were you saying Caine? Only read minds? She can speak to people in their heads too."

"Oh, great! She's really going to kill us with that. I have this feeling she's not telling us something." The door swung open to reveal Mina who said "You haven't asked me any questions yet! How am I supposed to know what you want me to tell you when you don't ask. Anyone would think I was a mind reader."

"This was a private conversation. Don't you know how to stay out of my head?" Said Caine coldly.

"I could barely ignore it. You were only a few metres away. Look Caine, don't judge me before you have all the facts. If people are close enough, I hear their thoughts without even trying and trust me, that's no picnic. Some things, I could do without hearing. When you're telepathic you have certain limits you hold yourself to. You don't look through people's thoughts unless necessary and if you hear something private, you don't mention it. It's just polite. So you can have your secrets about what you've always dreamed of or who you love but don't keep important things away from me that I should know. I'm just going to find out anyway and it hurts more to know people are keeping things from me. Oh, and there's another thing I should mention. Don't talk about me behind my back and never, never lie to me. Funnily enough, I can always tell when someone's lying."

"Right," said Diana "how about we have that chat?" Once they were all sat in the kitchen Caine said "I'm going to ask you now. What are your powers? What can you do apart from reading minds and talking in other people's heads? Because I fail to see how you could be dangerous, why would we hate to have you as our enemy?" Caine was getting angry, he was tired and impatient and stressed about too many things. "You might be a four bar but I'd like to see you defend yourself against me." He moved a plate that was on the side towards Mina. It should have hit her hard but it didn't. It stopped in mid air and then dropped to the floor where it smashed into little pieces.

Mina stared at Caine, her expression fierce. "Are you afraid yet, Caine?"

Diana looked from one to the other and said "are you telekinetic then?" she said "I didn't think it was possible to have two powers."

"Telekinetic?" Said Mina "no. It was Caine who dropped the plate." With that, Caine began to shake.

"Caine?" Said Diana, a little worriedly.

"She was in my head." He said. "She made me...controlled me." He looked at Mina and said "I would be afraid if you weren't on my side."

Mina raised her eye brows "and what makes you think that I am?"

"I mean, if you were on Sam's side. If you're on mine or your own, it's ok. I am right by thinking if you're on your side you have no reason to hurt anyone?"

"Yes. As of now, anyway. So, in answer to your question I can read minds and not just thoughts but memories as well. I can dig around in someone's mind to find out most things that are in there. I can speak to people in their mind and they can answer me with their thoughts, the further the distance between me and the person the harder it is for me to make a connection. I can control people with their mind, make them do a lot of things, depending on their resistance."

"Anything else?" Said Diana

"Yes, I can make people see things that aren't there. Sort of like a mirage. I can make people feel pain when they shouldn't. Basically, I can mess with people's minds. I don't like doing anything really bad though, because I could ruin them...and me. Some things aren't just dangerous for the person but me too."

A slow smile spread across Caine's face, he looked over at Diana and said "I think Mina just stole Penny's thunder."

"I'm glad. Penny needs taking down a notch or two." Said Diana. Nobody bothered to explain who Penny was to Mina because she probably already new, what with her reading minds and all. "Can we go to sleep now, Caine?" Said Diana, "I think it's quite safe to sleep in the same house as Mina here. She's not going to slit our throats or anything." Caine nodded and Diana led Mina up the stairs, leaving Caine alone in the kitchen. He sat there with his head in his hands and sighed. _Mina's as powerful as me...and Sam. If not more so. I just hope she stays on our side...or her side. She'd be great to have but...something strikes me she's not quite up to it. I think she's too nice. Alright she can be cold and show people who's in charge but I don't think she'd hurt anyone. Only time will tell. _With that he got up and went up to bed, thinking about this new girl who could be so dangerous if she wanted to be.


	3. Hungry in the Dark

Mina lay awake in the room Diana had showed her to, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts of the rest of the Coates kids battered her mind, swirling around and buzzing like angry bees. She closed her eyes and then sat up abruptly, wide awake. Her mind had reached Caine's thoughts...or rather his dreams. They sent her disturbing images of pain and darkness. Hungry in the dark. She shivered and then she felt Caine wake up, but the pictures were still in his mind. Mina lay down and found Caine's mind, she looked at his thoughts and dreams and turned them off. Turned off the scary pictures and the bad thoughts, letting him sleep for the rest of the night without any dreams. "I don't know why I bother," muttered Mina to herself as she rolled over and fell asleep herself.

The next morning Mina woke up early and got dressed, then waited for Diana to come and pick her up. She sat by the window, staring down at the world below. The sun rose, casting an orange light over the room and illuminating Mina's face in a pale yellow light. It was a few hours before Diana came calling "How long have you been up?" She said as Mina got up and went to the door. Mina shrugged "long enough," she said.

"Well, Caine's not up yet. I'm going to go and wake him soon, but I have to say, it's unusual for him to sleep late. Usually up by the crack of dawn." She shook her head.

"Don't. Let him sleep." Diana looked at Mina, confused "he's been sleeping badly lately, nightmares."

"And you'd know, wouldn't you?" Said Diana, an edge to her voice.

"He slept alright last night. No dreams." Mina smiled sadly "at least he'll get one night's sleep. I don't think he'll get many of those."

"Thanks." Said Diana quietly.

"What for?"

"For helping."

"Only one night." Mina sighed "I don't think I can keep it up long."

"Why, though? We haven't been exactly welcoming."

"I guess I'm just nice like that." Diana and Mina walked into the kitchen to find Penny sitting there, not doing anything in particular. She looked up at Diana and then her eyes flicked to Mina "Who's this?" She said.

"Mina." Said Diana shortly.

Penny rolled her eyes "what's she doing here?"

"Staying with us."

"Just staying? For some reason, I can't see Caine agreeing for her to just _stay. _What can she do?" Before Diana could answer, Mina said _wouldn't you like to know? _In both Penny 's and Diana's head. Diana smirked as Penny almost jumped out of her seat, Mina was grinning to herself. "Think that's funny, do you?" Snapped Penny. She began to make a hallucination, to scare Mina. To get payback. But was stopped in her tracks. "Don't play mind games with me." Said Mina frostily "you're always going to lose." Penny didn't have anything to say to this so she just sat and fumed silently. Diana laughed "aww, look. Poor little Penny's finally met her match. Wonder how long Caine's going to keep you around now?"

"Shut up you witch!" Snarled Penny

"Is that the best you can come up with? Is it?" With that Penny scraped her chair back and stalked out of the room, the last thing she heard was Diana's mocking laughter. "I don't like her." Said Mina.

"Join the club." Said Diana.

It was about midday when Caine came down into the kitchen. Mina didn't say anything, just took a moment to glance at him as he walked through the door and then lowered her eyes back to the table top. "Sweet dreams, Caine?" Said Diana.

"No dreams...no nightmares. Makes a change." He said "I actually got a good night's sleep...for once." He looked at Mina and, ever so slightly, nodded his head. It wouldn't have been noticeable if Mina couldn't hear his thoughts, she acknowledged it with a small smile. "So, how's our fearless leader this morning? Hatched any plans yet?" Said Diana, leaning her elbows on the table.

"Diana," Said Caine "if I hadn't been in such a good mood this morning, you'd be sorry you'd called me that. So how about you shut up for a minute and let me tell you what I have to say."

"Whatever you say," she said and then whispered "fearless leader," and grinned. Caine chose to ignore her teasing and said "so, Mina. How do you feel about a trip into town?"

"I'm not on your side yet, Caine, don't push it."

"I just thought...you know. Since I'm not welcome there any more, you could go and...catch up on the latest news for me." He smiled, trying act warm and charming.

"You seem to forget that any act you can put on, is wasted on me. Because behind that stupid smile you've got on your face, I can hear your thoughts saying: spy. Do you want to rephrase the question?"

Caine's smile disappeared and said "fine, if you want to be serious. Do you want to go into town and spy on Sam and tell me what he's thinking?"

Mina smiled "much more realistic, and, in answer to your question, maybe."

Caine sighed and looked over at Diana "have you seen Drake?"

"Yes, a boy about this height," said Diana, holding her hand in a rough estimate of Drake's height "a whip arm and-"

"Diana." Said Caine "I'm being serious. Have you seen him lately?"

"No, why?"

"He disappeared a while ago and I'd like to know where he's gone."

"How long?"

"2 days."

"He'll turn up, Caine. It's not long for Drake really."

Caine turned back to Mina and said "so, how about that trip into town?" Mina raised her eye brows "sorry, I mean, spying mission." He rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I'll go...in about an hour." Said Mina, standing up. She was about to leave when she said "Oh, and Caine,"

"Yes?"

"Keep an eye on Penny or have someone else watch her."

"What? Why?"

"Just...she's planning something. I don't trust her."

"Just because she was mean to you this morning-" Diana began. She didn't like Penny, but she didn't think she was up to something.

"I can read minds. She's up to something. I don't trust her. End of story. Keep an eye on her...if you don't...well, it's your fault if you get a nasty surprise one day."


	4. The Mind of a Sadist

Mina was making her way to the stairs when she spotted someone moving a few rooms away from her. She stopped dead as the figure disappeared through a door. She couldn't hear their thoughts. At that distance she should have been able to pick up something, even the most resistance people she'd met couldn't hide their thoughts completely from her. Slowly she crept after them and stood in the doorway to the room. Still no thoughts. By the time she took in the person standing there, she was terrified. For most of her life her power of hearing thoughts had acted as a comfort blanket. She knew what people were thinking, what people were like, what they'd do next. She was never in any danger because before anything happened, she'd know. If Mina couldn't find anyone's thoughts...then she couldn't stop them either.

The person in the room happened to be Drake and the only reason Mina knew that was because she'd seen pictures of him in Caine's and Diana's thoughts. He would have looked normal if it hadn't been for that arm. That whip. Mina knew what he was capable of...what pain. Because any thoughts that she'd heard about Drake were full of fear. Before Mina could make a quick exit Drake turned around to look at her. "Who are you?" He said, suspiciously.

"You must be Drake." Said Mina, her voice only trembling a little.

"You didn't answer my question." Said Drake in a low voice. Mina couldn't predict what he was going to do and where the line was with him. Was there even a line? Had she already overstepped it? Caine was easy compared to this. "Caine's looking for you." Said Mina, her voice a whole octave higher than it usually was. Drake frowned at this and said "answer the question."

"My name is Mina." Said Mina a little too quickly. Wrong thing to say. Drake smiled, making him look more like a shark than he had before. His eyes glinted. No way could anybody trust those eyes. "Come here, Mina," he purred "come closer, I can't see you. It's a little gloomy in here."

"I-" began Mina, starting to turn.

Drake's smile dropped off his face and he cracked his whip. "I'm not asking anymore. Come here!" _I must be going mad, _thought Mina, _I'm taking orders from this psychopath. _But what choice did she have? Mina was a fish out of water. Her only strength...gone. She was stood face to face with Drake now, the silence killing her. Only the sound of her shaky breathing could be heard in the whole room. Drake's thoughts were nothing. They stayed inside his head. Invisible to Mina. _This must be what it feels like to go deaf, _thought Mina. Then she felt something...something tightening around her shoulders. It felt like a snake...but there were no thoughts of a snake in her mind. _Stop stalling, Mina. You know what it is. Now start to think of a way to get out of this. _"Right," Said Drake and then it hit her.

Mina jerked back, the whip sliding off her shoulders. She didn't hear what else Drake had to say because she was too busy keeping Drake's thoughts under control. A torrent of disturbing images, memories and sounds came into her mind. It was worse than Caine's nightmare, that was for sure. So...this was the mind of a sadist. The worst thing was...accompanied by each of the images of pain and torture there was happiness...delight. You can't have slaughter without laughter. And laughter there was. A cruel, horrible mocking laughter that rang through the chambers of Mina's mind. Mina shrieked and fell against the wall, shutting down Drake's mind with as much power as she could. He collapsed on the floor at almost the same time she did. The only difference was that Drake was sleeping and Mina was wide awake. She sat in the corner of the almost bare room and sobbed her heart out.

* * *

After around an hour, Caine was pacing up and down impatiently. Mina had said she'd go to town, so where was she? Caine suppressed a sigh as Diana walked into the kitchen. "Well?" He said.

"She's not in her room." Said Diana.

"Well where is she? We should never have trusted her..."

"You're not doing very well, are you Caine? Losing people like this. It's terrible. First Drake and now Mina. Next thing you know, I'll be gone." Diana said this as a joke but Caine looked up at her and said "shut up, Diana. This is the last thing I need right now." Diana didn't say anything and after a few moments Caine said more quietly "I'd never lose you."

Diana just about stopped herself from rolling her eyes and said "never mind, Caine." Putting an arm around his shoulders "in the end, if everyone else disappears, it'll just be me and you. I'm fated to walk by your side until-"

Caine shook her off and said "until, what? You get sick of me?" Diana, again, didn't say anything. "Come, on. We're going to look for Mina."

"Where?"

"If I knew where we wouldn't be looking." Growled Caine. "You go and look upstairs again, I'll stay down here." It didn't take Caine that long to find the room where both Drake and Mina were. When he walked in, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the scene in front of him. Drake was curled up in the middle of the floor, sound asleep, his breathing heavy and regular. Then, in the corner, there was Mina shivering, having used up all her tears a while ago. She hadn't the strength to keep crying. "Mina?" Said Caine, not angrily...just a hint of confusion in his tone. She looked up, her eyes a little pink around the edges but she didn't look at Caine. She didn't look past him. She looked at something that wasn't there. Just staring. Staring right through everything. Caine stepped over Drake and went to kneel next to Mina. "Mina...what happened?" She looked at him this time, her eyes actually registered him and his face and then, after a few moments, who he was. He voice was weak when she spoke, her words a little shaky and her eyes were haunted. "I've never felt so helpless before. Never in my life have I been so lost." She paused "that's what you get for messing with the mind of a sadist."


	5. I'm So Lonely

"What-what did you see?" Said Caine.

"First of all...there was nothing and then...pain...and laughter." Mina said.

* * *

"I think maybe you should go into town tomorrow." Said Diana, looking at Mina after she had finished explaining what had happened.

"It would probably be the best idea...we've wasted rather a lot of time." Said Caine, not quite thinking about Mina but about her uses.

Mina frowned slightly, hearing his thoughts and said a little stiffly "Yes, it'd be better." Mina paused and said "you know...there's someone...um, here."

"What?" Said Caine

"I mean, I can hear their thoughts...there's someone in this room right now that we can't see." Mina carried on before Caine could say anything "his name's Bug." Caine heard a small whimper behind him and shot out his hand and grabbed the air. Bug materialized with Caine clutching his arm. "Explain. Now." Caine said, scowling.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I was just here!"

"Thought I'd be angry with you? Well you were right! I'm angry with you for staying away for the past week!"

"I-I"

"Thought you'd join Sam, did you? Did you really think you could do that? I sent you to spy on him, not to live with him! But then when things got tough, you came crawling back to me!"

"No, Caine, it wasn't like that! Please," whimpered Bug.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway." Said Caine, throwing Bug loosely against the wall, where he crumpled to the floor. "I've got a new spy so, if you want, you can go and join Sam. See if I care." Bug stood up carefully and said "but...but...so you don't need me anymore?"

"I didn't say that. You could still be useful Bug. We could still be _friends_." Caine grinned "remember, if you join Sam...you'll be my enemy and you know what I do to my enemies." Bug hastily retreated out of the room, just to be away from Caine and his evil smile.

* * *

Mina stood a little way off from Perdido beach wondering what exactly she was doing. It was a little cold that morning and Mina shivered as an icy wind brushed passed her. She rubbed her bare arms and continued walking towards the buildings she could see. _Alright Mina, get in, read some minds and get out. Then tell Caine...tell Caine some things. Enough to keep him happy but...not everything. He shouldn't know everything. The advantage of knowing when people are lying means that you get to be a good liar. Nobody can tell when I'm lying. Caine will never know. _Mina thought this as she walked past several dilapidated shops and a few starved children who didn't even spare her a glance. She looked at their thin arms and legs, their sunken cheeks and hungry eyes. They reminded her of mistreated animals. Those scrawny cats and dogs that wandered the streets aimlessly without a home...without someone to love them. Mina was a bit of a loner as it was, she never really had many close friends. You can't make friends easily when you can see inside people's heads...know what they're thinking. Find things you didn't want to know. But now, in this empty place, with only children who were waging wars on each other, Mina longed for friends. For just someone to talk to. Just so it wouldn't seem so quiet...so empty...so dead.

Mina was just thinking about where to start when a voice sounded behind her. "Who are you? I've not seen you around before." Mina turned around to see Sam. The Sam. The Sam Caine had told her to look for. Mina took him in, looking him up and down. He had a tired face with rings underneath his eyes. He looked stressed and deprived of sleep. His thoughts confirmed her theories and she thought _wow, that's way too much to put on a boy's shoulders. Way too much. Nobody should have to bear that burden. All of that..._she shook her head and said "I'm Mina. I've been up in the forest, living on my own. I've not really been here but I thought I'd come and...check it out." Sam nodded slightly and said "a bit dangerous up there now isn't it? Mutated animals and things?"

"There's a few." Said Mina, shrugging.

"Well, if you ever want to come and live here then you can. I'm sure there's an empty house around here somewhere."

"Thanks, but I'm ok at the moment."

"You been eating?"

"Yeah, nothing gourmet standard but I've been getting by. I eat...leaves and things. In the forest. Not very nice and...well, I'd have to eat a lot of them to actually get anything out of them." Sam pulled a face at the mention of leaves, obviously imagining eating them himself. "Well, as you've probably noticed, food is quite scarce at the moment and I can't really offer you much. Looks like you're doing alright with your leaves. Take what you find, you don't know when you might eat again."

"Thanks."

"Well, I'll be off then. Things to do...places to be." Sam went off slowly, buried in his thoughts. _What a sorry sight. _Thought Mina _Caine has nothing to be worried about, the poor boy's just thinking about how to feed everyone. Seeing as I'm here, I may as well have a look around, meet some other people, Caine won't miss me and if he does...tough. _

Mina wandered around, not speaking to anyone or looking at anyone in particular but listening to their thoughts. By the end of the day, she felt as if she'd met most people in Perdido beach, their worries, hopes, dreams all filed away in Mina's mind. She sighed and walked back to Coates Academy, dragging her feet slightly. Mina was bored. She wanted to do something. Wanted to talk to someone. _Caine is a psychopath or sociopath or whatever, either way he's mental and manipulative and wants to use me. Diana is sarcastic, mocking and...well, she's not that nice. Hard to talk to even though she has a bit of a heart. Drake...don't even get me started on him and his whip hand. His dark thoughts. Penny is just...horrible. A wannabe bad guy. She wants to prove herself, which makes her crueller than she should be. Bug is...well, Bug can't really chose a side. He's a bit of a wimp and coward, hiding in the shadows. Then there's Sam. Sam who's trying to do too much. Sam who's too serious since the FAYZ. Astrid who's a walking dictionary and all round goody two shoes. _Mina sighed, now having the heart to continue her list of people who could have been friends but never would be for various reasons. Or maybe...they would. Maybe she could change them...not to the extent where she could call them friends but...maybe they would like her...just a little...


	6. Truthful Lies

**Author's Note: Well, if you're reading this chapter then I suppose you've read the others too so...I hope you're enjoying my story. I'm trying to improve and listen to your advice, I hope that this meets your expectations. Any other improvements you can think of, don't hesitate to tell me because I will do my best to incorporate them in my writing. There are parts of this that may seem a little...well, I don't know how to put it. Several sentences I read didn't seem to flow that well but I wasn't sure how to fix them. Anyway, if you spot anything, just let me know, but I've tried to make this as interesting as possible. :)**

**Oh, and, if you've mentioned an improvement to me before and you don't see much of an improvement in this chapter, tell me again. It can take a while for the message to get through. :)**

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**Mina hesitated before she opened the front door that lead to Coates Academy. What was she doing, staying with a load of cruel people? Wouldn't she be better off staying in town, where people seemed so much less...hostile? She sighed and pushed open the door that creaked on its rusty hinges in need of oiling. Mina walked as quietly as she could through the hall, not really wanting to attract any attention. She'd had a hard day and had a severe head ache, so could do without meeting anyone. Unfortunately, as she passed a room on the second floor, Mina, quite literally, walked into Caine. "Will you watch-" he began but then stopped as he realised who it was "ah, Mina. Back from your little trip, are you?"

"Yes." She said a little stiffly.

"Well?" Caine asked, leaning against a doorframe in an attempt to appear nonchalant but hastily standing up straight again as the sharp splintered wood dug into his arm. Mina almost allowed herself a smile because she could see how impatient Caine was to find out about Sam. Why, he was almost...worried. "Not much to tell." Said Mina, shrugging "I wouldn't be too worried if I were you Caine, Sam isn't planning anything against you. He's just trying to figure out how to feed everyone, that's all."

"That's it?" Said Caine, a little dubious.

"Yes." Mina was trying to finish the conversation as soon as possible so she could go and lie down for a few hours to clear her head.

"You're telling me," said Caine "that you were gone for the whole day and all you found out was that Sam has no food?" He laughed a couple of times but there was no mirth in his laughter "that was no big secret. I already know that and I'm not a mind reader, am I?"

"I went for a wander around, just to get the general mood of the area. Anyway, I spoke to Sam and he doesn't know what I can do or that I'm staying here so he thinks I'm not threat."

"Alright, we'll send you back again sometime soon then. Once I've thought of a course of action, you can go down and set some things up." Caine brushed past Mina and walked towards the stairs, apparently pleased with Mina's report. Mina didn't even think to check what Caine was thinking because by now she had blind spots in front of her eyes due to her head ache.

Caine walked down the carpeted stairs, one hand sliding along the banister absent-mindedly as he thought. _She's lying to me. She has to be. But how do you find anything out from someone who can keep anything from you? Who can read your mind... _He frowned slightly, considering his options. Mina was too strong...too powerful. She needed putting back in her place because...Caine didn't like people who were a possible threat to him. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, Caine noticed Drake sneaking out of a room with a brown leather bag under one arm and, if Caine's eyes didn't deceive him, his fingers were stained red with blood. Instead of the series of questions and accusations that would have ordinarily been raised in his head, Caine thought _Drake. _And smiled to himself. _Drake. I knew that little sadist would come in handy one day. _"Drake." Called Caine. Drake guiltily turned around, dropping the bag and kicking it under a small wooden table beside him. Caine's smile grew wider as the psychopath hid his hands behind his back. "Drake. I need you to do a job for me."

* * *

It was late. Mina couldn't be sure of the time as she stared at the full moon outside her window. A ghostly white light spilled into the room, bathing Mina's face and other pieces of furniture in moonlight. There was a stretch of empty space in front of her, a place that had once been the playing fields for Coates Academy. It didn't really feel like a school anymore, it felt more like a prison. Mina took in several stick like trees as she thought about why her new 'home' felt so much like a prison. After all, she wasn't being kept against her will, she was free to go whenever she wanted. Whether Caine got angry or not, it didn't matter. That was his problem, not hers. Mina's ear pricked up at a sound...were they footsteps? But then the sound died away and Mina turned her attention back to the window.

Her eyes blurred and she stared at nothing in particular as she sat on the stool near her window. The thing about the room Mina was in was that it was quite old. The door didn't shut properly and the floorboards creaked...well, that was if you stepped on the loose ones. So when Mina's midnight visitor crept into her room she didn't hear the door handle being turned because the door had opened of its own accord whilst Mina has slept earlier on. It was a little too late to turn around once the floorboards started creaking. "Surprised?" Said a voice behind Mina. The hairs of the back of her neck bristled and she tensed, turning around slowly to see the visitor even though she knew full well who it was. You don't forget a voice like that. Not when you've seen the owner of it torturing people. Hurting them and...laughing while he did it.

Mina couldn't say anything, her voice frozen with fear. You might think she's over reacting, but, really, she wasn't. She knew exactly what Drake was a capable of and the scariest thing was...she didn't know what he was going to do next. Drake chuckled and said "miss me?" There were a few moments of silence and then "I thought not." The next thing Mina knew she was being pinned against the nearest wall by an unseen hand. Caine. "You set me up." Said Mina through gritted teeth.

"Oh, really?" Said Caine, a hint of amusement in his tone "I didn't think that was possible, my little mind reader."

"What. Do. You. Want." Said Mina, trying to hold her head high but her body was trembling.

"I want to know why-" Caine felt Mina trying to get into his mind so he said "Drake." Drake smiled gleefully, his eyes bright. If you ever see a psychopath smiling at you manically then take this piece of advice. Run. Unfortunately for Mina, she was pinned to the wall, so all she could do was stand there and hope for the best. Drake curled his whip around Mina's neck, gradually growing tighter until Mina gasped and let go of Caine's mind. "That's better." Said Caine "now we're all equal."

"I would hardly call having telekinetic powers _equal._" Spat Mina, but Drake's whips was still curled loosely around her neck so she didn't dare say anything else. "There are cheaters in the world, Mina. I am one of them." Said Caine, walking closer "and I think you're one of them, too."

"I have no idea-"

"You lied to me, didn't you?"

"I di-"

"As I said before, I find it hard to believe that Sam isn't up to anything. I find it awfully hard to believe and I'd like you to tell me the truth." Caine gave one of his warmest smiles "and then we'll have no trouble."

"Caine, I swear, I have nothing else to say. That really is all-"

"Maybe you're telling the truth. Maybe you're not." Caine shrugged "I'll never know, but I'm not about to give up trying to find out." His face was inches from hers now. Mina closed her eyes "Caine," she whimpered, her voice high and thin "I never meant to do any harm. I don't want to hurt anyone. But, I promise that I've told you everything I know. Promise-" a few tears rolled down her cheeks making her look like the little girl she felt like inside. Caine smashed her head against the wall, making Mina let out a cry. "Tell me the truth and I'll leave now." Caine's voice was a low, dangerous whisper.

"There's nothing else to tell..." Mina's voice was barely audible and more tears ran uncontrollably down her cheeks. Caine frowned and then released his hold on her "come on Drake, we'll try again in the morning." Caine started towards the door as Drake uncurled his whip from Mina's throat, she eyed him warily. Caine turned around at the door and said "Drake." Before he could do anything about it Drake had grabbed Mina's ankle with his whip and dragged her to the floor. There was a crack as her head hit the floor and Caine shook his head at Drake whilst he removed his whip from the unconscious girl's leg. Once they were out of the room Caine said "I told you to scare her not to kill her."

"She's not dead." Drake rolled his eyes and then stopped, a strange look coming over his face "but if you-"

"No, Drake." Caine shot him a look. "We want her alive." Drake muttered to himself as they walked down the hall "oh, and by the way," said Caine, smiling slightly "what were you doing with that bag?" You've never seen anyone move faster...well, unless you happen to be friends with Brianna. Drake disappeared down the stairs and Caine sighed as he walked into his room. _The things I have to deal with_, he thought, _if Mina would just tell the truth it would make it easier for everyone. _The moon darted behind a cloud and Caine's room was plunged into darkness. For a while, Caine just stood, letting the black settle around him. Then he burrowed underneath the covers on his bed and awaited yet another sleepless night.


	7. Where Did Mina Go?

**Author's Note: Well, this chapter isn't the best I've ever done. It's just one of those that help the story get moving again, nothing much is happening in it but it's necessary. Quite a bit of speech, quite a bit of thoughts and feelings on Mina's part. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I've been quite busy recently, which is why this is so late and I'm going to be quite busy for a few weeks but I'll try and keep my stories updated. I've been focusing on this one and 'The Curious Case of Drake Merwin' but if I can't find the right inspiration for them I might throw in a songfic or one-shot somewhere in the next few weeks. So, thank you all for reading my story, I hope I don't disappoint and reviews and feedback are always welcome. Thank you :)**

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Mina woke up to a cold, hard floor and throbbing head. Groggily, she sat up, leaning against the wall for support. It took several minutes for her to collect her thoughts and remember what exactly had happened. Caine. Drake. Mina groaned and staggered to her feet, looking out of the window to see the sky a dark shade of blue signifying the end of twilight and the begging of a new dawn. A new dawn, a new place...a new start. Mina wasn't staying. She couldn't. Caine had his chance, he had it and he blew it. She wasn't staying. She was going to pay a visit to Sam.

As Mina walked down the road leading away from Coates she didn't even spare a backward glance but bowed her head and walked as fast as she could before someone woke up and looked out of the window. _I'm not one of the bad guys...am I? I can't be. I hate them. They hurt me, hurt me real bad. But...how can I be good? How can I be good when I have several bad deeds to my own name? _Mina kicked a stone in anger, sending it rolling down the road in front of her. _Why do I have to pick a side? Whoever invented this whole 'picking a side' thing, should be shot. I'm not good, I'm not bad...I'm nobody. I'm nobody. I have two people inside me, two different people. One good...one bad. But where am I? Where did Mina go...? _Conflict. So much conflict. This was a daily battle for Mina, good against evil. Sometimes she could be nice. Like when she helped Caine with his nightmares. _I don't know why I did that. I really don't. He doesn't deserve it. He never did. He was horrible to me from the very minute I knocked on that door. But I helped him... _

Sometimes she could be cold and snappy. Sometimes...she could be downright heartless. But right now, Mina was scared. She couldn't keep up her fearless act, she couldn't fit in right now. Right now, Mina was nice and that meant she wanted to get away from Caine and Coates. But, when the time was right, she'd go crawling back...maybe crawling isn't the best word to use. She would go back to Coates, bolder and more hurtful than she had been. She'd go back when she'd changed, changed back into the bad person she was capable of being. She'd go back and show Caine he was wrong to mess with her, that she was more powerful. But right now, Mina just wanted to curl up and die. She wasn't thinking any of this. No, she didn't know this until later.

* * *

The sun had fully risen in the sky and Diana Ladris had a bone to pick with Caine. She was fuming and Caine wasn't getting off lightly, she wanted answers and she was going to get them. Well...if she didn't get them, she wanted to annoy Caine as much as she could before she gave up. It didn't really take her long to find him, sitting in his office. It's all he ever seemed to do now. "Caine." Said Diana, not giving away any of her anger in her tone.

"What?" Snapped Caine rudely. Big mistake.

"Caine. I'm going to give you two chances and two chances only. Tell me what you have to tell me. I'm going to find out anyway but I'd rather hear it from you." Diana smiled almost sweetly, but this is Diana we are talking about and sweet smiles aren't exactly second nature to her. Caine knew something was up.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Caine, although he had a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Caine. Last chance."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Diana. Care to tell me?"

"Care to tell you? Care to tell you?" Said Diana, losing it now "Caine Soren you idiot! What did you do to Mina?"

"What did you just call me?" Caine raised his eyebrows slightly, hoping Diana might take the message that he wasn't amused.

"An idiot! And don't you start shouting at me," Diana glared at Caine as he began to open his mouth to say something back "because you are an idiot. Couldn't you just stop to think before you carried out your crazy plan? Just use that head of yours for once and think. I know you can, you have before. So before you go into someone's room at night and attack them, think a little!" Caine went and stood in front of Diana and folded his arms "attacked?" he said softly "Diana, surely you don't think...?" He feigned innocence, but, of course, Diana didn't buy it.

"Blood Caine. Blood on the floor. Not a lot of it but blood doesn't appear by magic. I may not be Sherlock Holmes, Soren, but it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Mina is potentially dangerous and-"

"And, what?" Caine was taller than Diana, which should have given him the edge. But Diana wasn't easily intimidated and she looked Caine right back in the eye. If looks could kill... "She's gone. Gone. Just like that. If you hadn't gone and upset her, she'd still be here. I bet you she's gone to Sam now and I made it clear to you when we first met her that I didn't want her as an enemy. I still don't want her as an enemy. She's _dangerous. _She could kill us-"

"She's not a killer. Anyway, she'll be back. She'll want to prove herself again. She won't want to be knocked down by us." Said Caine, no longer denying the fact that he had done something.

"She could be a killer! Who are you to judge?" Then, Diana's anger simmered down a little "Yeah, and when she comes back Caine, I'm not going to stand there and stick up for you." She said spitefully "I'm not going to stand there and stop her doing whatever it is she's got in mind. Like you said, she's going to want to prove herself. I don't want to find out how she's going to do that. But you Caine," Diana smiled again and punched Caine playfully on the shoulder "have no choice." Another one of those sweet smiles and she left. Leaving Caine to stand there and doubt his actions. That girl always had a way of getting under his skin, getting into the back of his mind until he either did whatever it was she wanted or drove himself mad worrying about this or that.

_You had to come and say that, didn't you Diana? _Thought Caine. Of course she did. She was Diana. Caine sat back down and sighed, he already had enough on his mind as it was so, in an act of complete defeat, he thought _bring it Mina. Do your worst. _But he was never going to admit his thoughts to anyone and he was secretly glad a certain little mind reader wasn't around to hear them. Caine strode out of his office, his face calm as ever, his step never faltering, his smile never fading...his mind a mixture of chaos and distress.


	8. Nothing

**Author's Note: Well, welcome back dear readers who have stayed with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you aren't disappointed but, if you are, don't hesitate to let me know. Just tell me why whilst you're at it. I don't mind if you love this or you hate this as long as you tell me why. Then, if you don't like it, I can fix it. Well, try to anyway. Thank you for all the reviews :)**

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_Perdido Beach. Home to starving kids, dying animals and whatever else is brave enough to take residence here. Come and see the mutant animals on our safari walk, try not to get attacked in the process. Or would you rather go on our caving expedition and visit the ominous glowing 'darkness' at the end of the tunnel? WARNING: Only for people who are losing the will to live. Perdido Beach: A home for the crazy, the strong, the weak, the hero's, the villains and even the people who don't have any place at all. The one's who will do nothing but panic and freak out. _Mina sighed, not exactly the ideal tourist destination, was it? But she was there nonetheless.

The sea. How big it was. How very big and powerful yet so peaceful to just stand next to. The sea was huge, it was unstoppable. If it wanted to claim land, it would and it did. No amount of walls would keep it back forever and that was something that scared Mina about the FAYZ. The FAYZ wall had even gone down under the sea, probably to the bottom. The FAYZ had got the better of the sea, how could they hope to get the better of the FAYZ? When – no – if the wall came down none of them would be fit to go back into society. After this, who could go back into routine? Mina turned her attention back to the sea, the sun reflecting off the water. The sun, warm on Mina's shoulders. The sun, lighting up Perdido Beach. The sun, rising in the morning. But it wasn't. It was fake. Fake. Mina felt as if she was living in a world of lies. Lies and mysteries and surreal things. She was right.

Then something broke the silence. Someone's thoughts. That was another thing Mina liked about the sea. It seemed so alive yet there were no irritating thoughts bombarding her constantly. It was a mystery and Mina didn't really come across many of those, someone always seemed to have the answer, someone always knew even if they didn't say anything. "Hi." Said Sam, coming to stand next to Mina "you came back then."

"Yeah I came across a few...problems." This wasn't exactly a lie, Mina could lie about anything and people would believe her. But she didn't like lying. She didn't like her power and so she tried not to use it too often. If Mina said that a lion was about to eat you, she could make you believe it and believe it you would. "I'm not surprised really. You coming to stay here for good then?"

Mina shrugged, because she doubted that she would be able to stay away from Coates. "I'll probably stay a while but not forever. I'm a coming and going sort of person."

"I guess that's not a bad thing. That way you've got nothing to lose."

"Nothing to lose but nothing to hold on to either." Mina dug her foot into the sand, the grains making their way inside her shoe. She never stuck with one place. Never stuck with one person. She'd always liked that but she'd never...belonged. "How are you at solving problems?" Said Sam.

Mina was a little shocked by the sudden question and she said "Well...I don't really know. Never had much experience. What sort of problem?" Sam bent down and picked up a small pebbled, he rubbed his thumb over it.

"Just about every problem you could think of." Sam clenched his fist, squeezing the pebble tightly "people are hungry, starving. People are fighting...killing. We're a mess here. A big mess and, for some reason, I seem to be the person who's supposed to fix everything. But I can't. I can't do it because there are too many problems. Too many things I don't know how to solve." Sam threw the small stone he had in his hand into the sea, it landed a few metres out making a quiet splash.

"Sam," said Mina quietly "just for a minute, forget. Forget about your problems-"

"I can't forget-"

"You can Sam. Just for a minute. Just look at the sea out there. You looking?" Sam nodded "well, keep on looking. Keep looking and looking and stare at the place the sea goes dark blue instead of clear and keep on staring. Just look Sam, don't think."

"What am I looking for?"

"Nothing. You're looking for nothing. I don't know what nothing looks like yet and that's why I haven't found it. So do me a favour and help me look." Sam smiled slightly, and stared out to sea before saying "you look for nothing a lot?"

"Every day." Said Mina and then "every time I need to forget. To be free..."

"Freedom. I don't think that's even a word anymore." Spat Sam.

"It is. You just need to know where to find it. It's like looking for nothing. I don't know what freedom looks like, but I think it's a whole lot closer than nothing."

"Sometimes," said Sam "I'm not too sure." After a few more minutes of silence Sam spoke up "well, Mina. You say you're bad at solving problems but I want to find out for myself because I think you'll be pretty good with problems. Let's go into town and meet some people. People ought to meet you because I think you can help. Answer some questions."

"I'm not good with questions. Usually, I only know the answer if someone else does too." Sam looked at Mina a little oddly then, not sure what to make of her statement. But he shrugged it off and turned to leave, Mina following behind him.

* * *

Caine Soren stared out of the window, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of...of what? He didn't even know himself. All he knew was that he had nothing better to be doing. Caine squinted against the harsh glare of the sun, searching for something. Anything. He turned away and looked into the shadow of the room, no longer looking for anything, but thinking. "What are you doing?" Came a voice from behind Caine. He sighed, knowing full well who it was.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Said Diana, moving to stand in front of Caine, forcing him to look at her.

"Yes! That's what I said, isn't it?" Snapped Caine, moving his eyes to glare at Diana.

"Well...shouldn't you be doing, you know, something?"

"Why should I do anything?" That girl, was really getting on his nerves. First messing his thoughts up about Mina, now this.

"Because you're our fearless leader, that's why."

"What do you suggest, Diana? What do you think I should do?" Caine really wasn't in the mood. It wasn't his day at all. In fact, it hadn't been his day in quite some time.

"Where's your master plan you promised me? The thing that was so amazing you wouldn't even tell me about it." Diana was doing this to irritate Caine and he knew it, yet it bothered him anyway. "Don't tell me you lied Caine..."

"Diana, will you just shut up! I'm getting sick and tired of hearing your snide comments, so what if I'm not doing anything. It shouldn't bother you. What does it have to do with you?"

"Oh, Caine. It has everything to do with me." Then Diana's face twisted into a scowl "well Caine, I'm sick and tired with you too. You're becoming lazy, you sit around here all day and do nothing. Ok, I'm glad you're not out killing people and causing trouble but it strikes me you can't be bothered to do anything anymore."

"What would you know? You have no idea-"

"Don't I? I'll tell you what I think, I don't think you have it in you. I don't think you can do it anymore. I think the darkness took it from you, you're not you anymore."

"That's not true and you know it." Growled Caine.

"Oh really? Then prove it because I'm willing to bet a whole lot of money that it is."

"Money you don't have." Said Caine quietly.

"It doesn't matter if I have it or not. All that matters is that I'm right. You're useless Caine." Something flared in Caine's eyes then, something like anger. Diana began to wonder if she'd gone too far, if she'd over stepped that thin line that was between Caine throwing her against the wall and just shouting at her. She stepped back. "Diana," said Caine in a low, dangerous voice "I am not useless. I am Caine and I will not be spoken to like that. You have," Caine paused and glanced at an imaginary watch on his wrist "ten seconds, to get out of here before I smash you against that wall and break every bone I can find." Diana made a quick exit but, as she was walking down the hall she smiled and thought _reverse psychology, works every time. _


End file.
